Stitch-separating machine.



No. 655,820. Patented Aug. I4, I900.- J. E. BERTRAND.

STITCH SEPARATING MACHINE.

(Application filed Nov. 13, 1899.)

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 0 0 l M m. u A d 8 t n e a P, a N H m D NM AGn nN R A .P EE 8 H c h T S 0 2 5 5 6 0 N (Application filed Nov. 13,1899.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

Jose 177015. Bertrand,

MNITED STATES PATENT Orrice.

JOSEPH ELI BERTRAND, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE BAY STATESHOE MACHINERY COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE AND PORT- LAND, MAINE.

STITCH-SEPARATING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 655,820, dated August14, 1900. Application filed November 13, 1899. Serial No. 736,838- (Nomodel.)

T on whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOSEPH ELI BERTRAND, machinist, a citizen of theUnited States of America, residing in the city of Boston, in the countyof Suffolk and State of Massachusetts,

have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Stitch-SeparatingMachines, of which the following is a specification.

The object of the present invention is to to provide a simple economicalmachine which can be operated by unskilled persons for the purpose ofindenting the leather between the stitches in the projecting soles ofboots and shoes, such operation being known as stitch indenting,pricking, or separating. The stitches which are here exposed may beusefully employed to attach the outer (bottom) sole of the shoe to theinner sole and upper by connecting the outer sole to the welt, thelatter being a strip of leather united to the inner sole and upper whensaid inner sole and upper are sewed together, or they may simply befair-stitches, employed to imitate weltwork incheap shoes havingprojecting soles, which soles are sewed directly to the upper bythrouglrand-through stitches extending from the bottom of the solethrough the same and inside of the shoe. In whichever of these ways theshoe is sewed 0 it presents a projecting sole with stitches exposed onits upper face, and it is the fashion at the present time to have thestitching emphasized by indenting the projecting edge of the sole at thestitch-holes in the leather, (or at the stitch-intervals, as nowcustomarily denominated,) so as to make a marked and pronouncedseparation between the successive stitches. This work of separating thestitches or indenting the stitch intervals was formerly done by hand;but several machines have been brought out for doing it. Among suchmachines is the one described in the specification of United StatesLetters Patent No. 602,859, dated April 26, 1898, to Job Lee, and it isupon this machine that the present improvements have been made. The saidLee machine comprises as its operative instrumentalities a horizontalrest or support, upon which the bottom of the shoe-sole rests during thestitch-separating operation, and

a power-vibrated indenting-tool, which is elevated out of contact withthe projecting edge of the sole by a rotary cam and is brought down uponsaid edge to make the indentation by springs, the rest or supportholding the sole against the blow of the indentingtool, so that theeffect of the tool is to make the desired indentations. The feed of theshoe beneath the tool from stitch-interval to stitch-interval is byhand, the shoe being held and moved by hand during the operation, thefeeding being done when the tool is elevated by its actuatingcam. In thesaid Lee machine the tool reciprocates at an inclination to the restupon which the shoe-sole is flatly held, thus enabling the tool to passinto the crease between the shoe-upper and the projecting sole edge,which isof material advantage, since it enables the entire visible Widthof said projecting edge to be indented, and it "enables said edge to beindented in the shank or waist of the shoe, if desired, all of which isdone without danger of thetool marring the upper by digging into it. Thetool itself serves as a sufficient guide for the shoe-during theindenting operation by reason of the upper bearing against theouter faceof the tool. In said Lee machine, however, the accuracy of theindentation depends wholly upon the skill of the operator, who mustbring each stitch-interval exactly beneath the tool in order to secureperfection in the work. In said Lee machine the action of thetool-driving cam is controlled by a treadle, so that the tool ceases towork when the foot of the operator is withdrawn from the treadle. Thereis, however, no means for stopping the tool at any given point, so thatit is liable to stop with the tool resting in an indentation, and it isthen necessary to elevate the tool by hand against the tension of thetool-operating springs in order to withdraw the finished shoe and toplace another shoe in the machine. Again, in said Lee machine the forceof the indenting stroke is dependent upon the power applied to thetreadle which controls the action of the indenting-tool, and since thedriving-cam is always running when the machine is in use there isliability of the first indentations made on a shoe being insulificient,since they may be made before the treadle is fully depressed.

The object of the-presentimprovements, is to so arrange theindenting-tool that it will rest lightly on the surfaces of the stitcheswhen the shoe is being fed by hand, whereby it willfeel for thestitch-interval, so that the operator can at once tell by the addedresistance to the feed due to the position of the tool when in theinterval that the shoe is in the proper place for the indentation, andby then ceasing the feeding movement the i11- dentation is made withaccuracy. The accuracy of the indenting hence is not alone dependentupon the eye of the operator, but is due to the tool itself opposing aneffectual resistance to the feed from one stitch to the next, which theoperator quickly learns to appreciate and obey. A very little practice,therefore, enables a boy or girl to operate the machine with rapidityand with perfection of result.

One embodiment of the present improvements is illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of themachine, a guide-plate employed to externally guide the indenting-toolcarrier being removed to show the tool-operating cam. Fig. 2 is aperspective view of the tool, tool-carrier, and work-rest, showing alasted shoe in section while being operated upon. a side view, and Fig.4 a vertical section, of the tool, tool-carrier, and rest. Figs. 5, 6,and 7 are diagrams illustrating the indenting operation. Fig. 8 is adetail of the stop mechanism.

A is the indenting-tool, and its several positions in relation to thework are shown in Figs. 5, 6, and 7. Fig. 7 shows the tool in theposition which it occupies after it has performed its indenting stroke,being then forced down in the interval between two adjacent stitches.The tool is then moved away from the work to the position indicated inFig. 5, where it is entirely out of contact with the work. The work isthen free to be moved laterally by hand, so that when the tool againoperates it will not be thrust into the same stitch-intervalI The tooloccupies the position shown in Fig. 5 momentarily only, giving justsufficient time for the operator to move the work by hand, and it thendrops to the position shown in Fig. 6, where it lightly rests upon thework. Vhen occupying this position, the work can readily be moved byhand beneath the tool, the tool being so lightly held that it readilyrises and falls in accordance with the configuration of the stitch.\Vhen, however, its point drops into a stitchinterval, it opposes anappreciable resistance to the movement of the work, so that the operatorthen knows by the feel that the tool is located in a stitch-intervalready to make an indentation. Fig. (3 shows the tool in proper positionto make an indentation. The tool then receives its indenting blow, beingforced into the material between two stitches. .As shown in Fig. 5, thepoint of the tool is Fig. 3 is rounded, sothat it readily rides over thesurfaces of the stitches. From these figures it will be noted that thetool having performed its indenting stroke is first raised clear fromthe work. It then moves toward the work, resting yieldingly on thestitches during the final feed of the work by hand, being then free tomove to and from the stitches, thrusting itself into a stitch-intervalwhen presented, and thereby affording resistance to further feed of thework, and finally it is moved forcibly toward the work to make anindentation.

During the operation of the indenting-tool the work rests upon awork-support or workrest B. Fig. 2 shows the relation of theindenting-tool and the work-rest to each other and to the stitched.article operated upon, a lasted welted shoe being illustrated. The worksupport or rest B is a stationary one, and the tool has no lateral orfeeding movement, the feed of the work being effected solely by hand.

The indenting-tool moves to and from the work-rest and is mounted in areciprocating tool-carrier O, the tool being also independently movableon said tool-carrier. The toolcarrier is mounted to slide in the head Dof the machine, which, as shown in Fig. 1, is provided with an inclinedguide-groove in which the said carrier slides. The carrier is retainedin this groove by means of an external supporting-plate, which is notshown in Fig. 1, being removed to exhibit the operating-cam. This plateis indicated at E in Fig. 2, and Fig. 1 shows the bolt-holes Ct, whichreceive its attaching-screws. The tool-carrier is moved upwardly awayfrom the work-rest by means of a rotary cam F, carried by the driveshaftG, which cam acts upon an inwardly-projecting stud w, carried bythetoolcarrier, and it is moved toward the work-rest by means of aspring H. Said spring is shown as connected with the carrier 0 by meansof a link I), and it is adjustably connected to the framework of themachine by adjusting-nuts c c. The spring, it will be noted, moves thetool-carrier toward the work, and the cam retracts the tool-carrier, sothat the force of the indenting blow depends upon the force of thespring. The force of the spring is adjustable at will, so as to suit therequirements of dif ferent classes of work; but it remains constantduring the indenting of a single shoe or single class of shoes.

The purpose of the inclination of the toolcarrier is to enable theindenting-tool to enter into the crease between the shoe upper and thesole in order to effectively indent the entire surface of the projectingedge of the sole without liability of injuring or defacing the upper.

The indenting-tool A partakes of the reciprocating movement of thetool-carrier and it also has an independent movement on saidtool-carrier. gitudinally to afford a guideway for the in- Thetool-carrier is grooved londenting-tool, said tool being maintained inplace on the carrier by means of plate I. The carrier and tool areadapted to be yieldingly coupled together, so as to move in unison bymeans of a spring-catch (Z on the carrier, which engages a notch e onthe tool, and the tool and carrier are arranged to be uncoupled fromeach other by means of an abutment J, which is adjustably attached tothe head D of the machine by a slot fand bolt g, which abutment is inthe path of a stud K, carried by the indenting-tool. Fig. 2 shows thetool and its carrier in the position which they occupy just after theindentation has been made. In this position the tool and carrier arecoupled together by means of the springlatch (Z and the notch e. Thecarrier is then elevated away from the work by means of the cam F, andthe indenting-tool moves upwardly with the carrier away from the work,thus leaving the work free to be moved by hand. During the ascent of thecarrier the tool remains coupled with it until the stud K, carried bythe tool, encounters the fixed abutment J, whereupon the yieldingcoupling between the tool and carrier yields, thus disconnecting thetool and carrier as the carrier continues its upward movement. Thisuncoupling leaves the indenting-tool free to drop down by gravity uponthe stitches. Fig. 3 illustrates the position of the tool and carrierduring the upward movement of the carrier and just as the tool is aboutto be uncoupled from the carrier. As shown-in this figure, the tool isnow entirely free from the work, so that the work is free to be moved byhand. The position of the tool as shown in Fig. 3 corresponds with itsposition shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 4 illustrates the position of the tooland carrier just after they have been uncoupled. The uncoupling leavesthe tool free to drop by gravity upon the work. In this position thetool rests lightly and yieldingly upon the work. The amount of pressurethen exerted by the tool upon the work in the illustrated constructiondepends solely upon the weight of the tool and its shank. This weight issufficient to cause the tool to give a light pressure upon the work, butis efficient to cause it to thrust itself into a stitch-interval and tothen present an appreciable resistance to the further feed of the workby hand. The position of the tool shown in Fig. 4 corresponds with itsposition as shown in Fig. 6. After the tool and carrier are uncoupledthe carrier is elevated to a distance determined by the operating-cam F,and when the highest point of the cam is reached and passes from beneaththe carrier the spring I-I forces the carrier down toward the work. Inthis descending movement the carrier acts as a hammer to strike aforcible blow upon the head of the indenting-tool, and thereby drivesthe said tool into the leather in the interval between two stitches,thus effecting the indentation. A yielding cushion L, preferably ofleather, is interposed between the tool and carrier (see Fig. 4) tocushion the indenting-blow. Fig. 2 shows the tool and carrier just afterthe indenting-blow has been made, the position of the tool here showncorresponding with its position shown in Fig. 7.

The abutment J is rendered adjustable, so as to regulate the height atwhich the tool will be uncoupled from its carrier, so as to accommodatesoles of varying thicknesses.

During the indenting operation the work is held in the hands of theoperator and the feed is solely by hand. The tool itself constitutes asufficient guide for the work, since the tool is in contact with thework except during the brief interval when the tool is coupled to itscarrier during a portion of the upward stroke of the carrier and whileit is dropping back to the work after being uncoupled.

The operation of the tool-actuating cam F is controlled by a stopmechanism which in turn is controlled bya treadle M. (See Fig. 1.) Thedrive-shaft G has fast to it sleeve N, in which is mounted slideclutch-pin O, which is thrust outwardly by a spring .P, as shown in Fig.8. \Vhen thrust outwardly, said clutch-pin O is in the path of abutmentQ, carried by driving-pulley R, which is loosely mounted on the shaft Gand is driven by a belt from any suitable source of power. As longtherefore as the clutch-pin O occupies its outward position theactuating-cam F is rotated. The clutch-pin O is moved inwardly todisconnect the driving-pulley R by means of a cam S, which is pivotallyconnected att' to the frame of the machine and which is moved in onedirection by the treadle M, with which it is connected by a link T, andin the opposite direction bya spring U. When the foot of the operator isremoved from the treadle, the spring U moves the cam S inwardly and intothe path of a projectingstud W, carried by the clutch-pin O, andconsequently, when said stud encounters said cam the stud is movedinwardly, thus unclutching the driving-pulley. When, however, the footof the operator is placed upon the treadle, the cam S is swung outwardlyaway from the stud W, and thereupon the spring P (see Fig. 8) thruststhe clutch-pin O outwardly, thus clutching the driving-pulley R to theshaft G, and hence operating the machine. The starting and stopping ofthe machine is thus within the control of the operator.

In order to stop the machine always at a definite point, which is whenthe tool-carrier is away from the work, the cam S carries a stop X,which is directly in the path of the stud W when said cam is in itsstopping position, so that the shaft G and actuating-cam F are stoppedpositively and definitely in the proper position.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my saidinvention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare thatwhat I claim is-- 1. A stitch separating machine, wherein the stitchedarticle operated upon is fed by IIO hand, having, in combination, astationary work-rest; an indenting-tool which rests yieldingly on thestitches during the completion of the feed of the article by hand, isthen free to move to and from the stitches, and thrusts itself into astitch-interval when presented,

thus affording resistance to the further feed of the stitched article;and means for forcibly moving said tool to make an indentation,substantially as set forth.

2. A stitch -separating machine, wherein the stitched article operatedupon is fed by hand, having, in combination, a stationary work-rest; anindenting-tool which is movable to and from the work-rest, said toolmoving away from the work-rest so as to clear the article operated upon,then moving toward said work-rest so as to rest yieldingly upon saidarticle during the completion of the feed of the article by hand, andthen moving forcibly toward the work-rest to make an indentation; andmeans for so moving said tool, substantially as set forth.

3. A stitch-separating machine having, in combination, a work-rest; anindenting-tool;

a carrier movable to and from the Work-rest, in which carrier said toolis movably mounted; means for connecting said carrier and tool so thatthey move in unison away from the work-rest; means for automaticallydisconnecting said tool and carrier so that the tool then moves towardthe work-rest independently of its carrier; and means for forciblythrusting the tool toward the Work-rest to effect the indentation,substantially as set forth.

4. A stitch-separating machine having, in combination,an indenting-toolcarrier; means for reciprocating said carrier; and an indenting-toolsupported and moved by said carrier and independently movable thereon,substantially as set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

JOSEPH ELI BERTRAND.

Witnesses:

ANDREW J. REYNOLDS, WILLARD B. HOSMER.

